The Daviess County Prosecutor is continuing investigation into allegations of financial discrepancies involving the Daviess-DeKalb Region Jail at Pattonsburg.
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A task force assigned to review and investigate the accusations has made recommendations to the prosecutor for felony and misdemeanor criminal charges against unidentified individuals. However, according to the Gallatin North Missourian newspaper, Prosecutor Annie Gibson has indicated she still lacks required documents to proceed with any criminal charges at this time. She told members of the jail board that probable cause statements have still not been submitted to her office by law enforcement officials. Probable cause statements, the newspaper said, detail the information which leads officers to believe that elements of a specific crime may have occurred and also specify the location of the crime.
Ms. Gibson said law enforcement continues to work on the investigation to provide the required information and details to file the charges. She also said her office is working in conjunction with all agencies involved in the investigation.
The task force was organized last May after the jail’s in-house investigator, Jim Baker, reported findings on financial discrepancies that had been discovered by the new administration, according to the newspaper. Criminal charges submitted to the prosecutor by the task force include stealing, deceptive business practices, false declarations, motor vehicle tax evasion, employer failing to account/pay withholding tax, failure to maintain sales tax records, violation of cigarette/tobacco tax, failure to obtain license to sell tobacco, fraudulent use of a credit device and sales tax not used for the regional jail.
Some of the charges submitted to the prosecutor require involvement by the Department of Revenue and other outside agencies, the newspaper said.
Administrative changes were made to the jail in January, at which time the alleged discrepancies were discovered. The jail’s administrator, Larry Hadley, was fired by the jail board on Jan. 3 and the jail’s interim administrator, Bob Gray, eliminated the position of budget manager on Jan. 21, a position that had been held by former Daviess County Presiding Commissioner David Tolen. Mary Morrow, secretary of the board, was fired on Jan. 21 in what was stated as “discrepancies in her job duties.”
In March, Gray and secretary Norma Crabtree reported to the board that late fees amounting to between $25,000 and $30,000 were paid by the jail for water, electricity and other utilities on account of “messy bookkeeping.” The newspaper reported that other examples of poor bookkeeping were cited, including paying insurance for 13 persons who had been terminated since 2009, four employees who insurance was not deducted from their paychecks and W-2 forms that were not sent to the IRS in 2009.
Two audits of the jail are currently under way, including one requested by the jail administration and board as well as one by the state auditor’s office. Both findings are to be made public once the audits are complete.